The Pink Guy: Overcommitment

Mexican style figure as part of pink cut out

RantWoman is mixing her own content with other items from the day's events.

Text of spoken word offering which may or may not apply to general flow of Life, Death, and DRAMA on RantWoman's mind

Welcome to Overcommitment Anonymous. We are men and women who have come together to share our strength and our pain in overcoming overcommitment.
We have scheduled an extra hour a day for meetings to accomplish this.
This is our program:

1. We recognized that our schedule was completely out of control, and that being in three different cities at two o'clock on Tuesday was probably never going to be physically possible.
2. We came to believe that a Higher Power could help us out of the chaos.
3. We made a decision to turn our lives over to our Higher Power, who has more control over space-time than we do.

   3a. We admitted that even a Higher Power probably won't be able to help us be in three places at once.

   3c. We admitted that this giving up control thing was going to take awhile.

   3d. We skipped 3b because we were busy with another project just then.

4. We made a searching moral inventory of every time we have scheduled 46 hours out of 24, promised to deliver a project the next morning that would require a week of work, scheduled a two hour meeting at 9 AM and another one at 9:30 AM, eaten lunch at our desk, slept on the office floor, slept on our keyboard, gone without sleep, and generally overextended ourselves. Even when it was fun.
5. We shared this moral inventory with at least one other person who would give us enough time to listen to the whole thing, which proved to be a useful way to identify other candidates for Overcommitment Anonymous.
6. We became entirely ready to have our Higher Power remove all these shortcomings and make us content with accomplishing what human strength can do in 24 hours of normal spacetime.
7. We humbly asked our Higher Power to please do so while we still have some human strength left.
   NOTE: Most of us are still coming up with qualifying clauses for Step Six. (aka Step Sux)
8. We made a list of everyone who has ever been adversely affected by waiting for us in Omaha Nebraska because we were sure we could get to New Jersey and back in two hours, or any other overcommitment we ever made.
9. We committed ourselves to making amends to all of these people.
10. We assured our Higher Power that yes, we will allow longer than 24 hours to do it all and will not try to make all amends at the same time.
11. We sought through prayer, meditation and daily Net searches to find calendar software that will slap our hands whenever we overbook our bods.
12. Having had an Awakening of some sort or another as the result of these Steps, we try daily to carry the message to other sufferers --

Commit to Overcommitment Anonymous!

 

Link for Proper Attribution

 

 

Eldering? Commenting on Ministry: God, Public Transportation; Worship

Two Day of the Dead altars in honor of two people recently trying to elder RantWoman

In observance of these kicky visuals from RantWoman's Day of the Dead ofrendas observance,  RantWoman is dumping some "hard to elder" moments from recent email.

For instance, recently two Friends tried to elder RantWoman in person about not finding God in a certain vocal ministry. The vocal ministry involved the phrase "Crip Transit Mafia Worship Auxiliary." RantWoman would have found it entirely reasonable to hear the question Huh? but that did not emerge in the conversation. Bear in mind, RantWoman also received warm appreciation from other worshippers.

In conversation, RantWoman asked whether the Friends trying to elder hernotice any patterns in RantWoman's messages. RantWoman would say many people in cluding RantWoman have recurring themes. RantWoman asked whether those addressing her noticed any themes in RantWoman's messages.  RantWoman would say that she does tend to be called to speak around a couple specific themes and that RantWoman tends to be called to minister when the salad in her head falls into place around these themes. RantWoman suggested that Friends try listening better.  However, it can be wacky and variable salad and RantWoman supposes worshippers should be forgiven if the themes do not leap out to casual listeners.

Perhaps RantWoman was also being too cryptic, speaking both of the reality of her daily experiences and all the movements in the world of transportation shaping the area in the immediate vicinity of RantWoman's Meeting and also, fair or not, with public participation and accessibility practices shaping RantWoman's expectations. RantWoman is kind of stuck in "we need to explore this NOW" mode in order to shape ways for people to watch calendars and meetings and feed insights or questions into the campus discernment process. RantWoman alternates between trying to let the process take shape and refusing to let her concerns be erased. Please hold RantWoman and those around her in the Light figuring out what best supports discernment.

In any case, after the conversation, RantWoman went home and penned the following request.

Thank you so much for comments after business meeting about my
ministry out of worship. Both of you mentioned having trouble finding
God in my ministry. Do either of you remember any words or phrases
from what I said? If you remember any moments and can rephrase your
comments as questions based on what you remember, perhaps I can speak
more completely to something on your mind

[I am Not Interested in Your Thought Processes Friend has worked hard to earn his nom de blog, and RantWoman is  nowhere near saintly enough to have come up with a path to a different pseudonym. ]

Another commenter later suggested that instead of suggesting that Friends listen
better, maybe RantWoman should have just written email about what she meant.
Considering the comment above, I stand by my request to listen better.
    To be honest, unlike some messages, I definitely remember enough
of what was on my mind and enough of what I said that I can probably
write several Russian Novel chapters on different themes. Unlike
Dostoevsky, though, I do not get paid by the cuartto and I do not get a warm
vibe from either of those trying to elder RantWoman that even one Russian novel chapter in email will speak to your condition. But again, if you can rephrase
your comments as questions perhaps I can more precisely articulate
something of movements of God on my mind.
In Light and Faithfulness.

RantWoman

Bomb Them with Hershey's Kisses

RantWoman is HIGHLY certain that a recent moment from life at the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing will somehow magically inspire people who are baffled by RantWoman's realities. Um, no. RantWoman is less than certain but is called to offer anyway.

The basic point for readers with short attention spans: RantWoman was busy trying to both listen to a customer's conversation and use her screen reader to find some web content on a couple webpages. RantWoman and customer were talking partly about customer's previous travels in Asia, partly about the week's travels by the current White House occupant. Somewhere in the conversation between the quacking of RantWoman's screen reader, customer said he would just "bomb North Korea with Hershey's kisses."

The longer version. Thursday a blind customer came to the Friendly Neighborhood Center. RantWoman does not remember this customer's path to blindness but does remember his stories.

Training is not really this customer's path. Instead his visits mostly involve requests that need some modest level of tech savvy after which he takes the results home, usually on paper or USB drive and gets help from his late wife's relatives. RantWoman and another staffer once had to tag tem about some serious document conversation, but Blind customer has interesting stories of work in forestry and of travel in many countries in Asia 

Blind customer has moments where the elevator does not quite seem to ... but he also wants to stay engaged in his field. This time blind customer wanted the calls for papers for two conferences occurring jointly in early 2018, a task easily done by a sighted user in just a few minutes of searching and views of the relevant websites.
But RantWoman was who was available and RantWoman does not mind helping the guy. RantWoman does struggle both to listen to her screen reader and to follow conversation. RantWoman can explain in more excruciating detail. Basically, RantWoman found one call for papers and the URL for the companion conference including a link to a Google form which was refusing to print after several tries. But customer went away happy. Despite dual track sonic vexations and task not completed to RantWoman's standards, RantWoman is kind mostly smiling inside about they bomb them with kisses. idea.

Ofrendas with Volunteer Appreciation and Use Alternate Methods

Picture of one of this year's ofrendas

Themes:
Appreciation for someone who said she has not received any kind of award since grade school
Lots of inspiring stories and not too much downer content about housing affordability  crisis, looming federal budget cuts....

A power to the people story that deserves its own entry and that will get recognized after the fact

Blindness Tourism and Use Alternate Methods
This will be the first of several entries reflecting the ofrendas displayed for this year's day of the Dead observance at El Centro de La Raza. RantWoman shot a lot of pictures. RantWoman knows what is in some of the pictures. RantWoman has no idea what is in other pictures. RantWoman could not tell at full size and there is no way RantWoman is going to be able to tell in photos.
    The Use Alternate methods community building approach that is applicable: some of the ofrendas will have no alt text. Readers with vision issues are invited to find someone who can describe the picture. The picture above is one such example.

Wayfinding with accessibility constraints: Venue signage does not do a great job of routing people to the wheelchair entrance. Neither did event signage. Sigh.

Wayfinding with cognitive challenges: you took the train one way to come here. You need to take the train the other way to get home.

RantWoman has just returned from a volunteer appreciation event.

The volunteer appreciation was held at El Centro De La Raza, the old part where accessibility takes a lot of walking around. The signage was not perfect and a wheelchair user would have had to drive some to find the accessible entrance, which turned out to be near the venue.. There was a mic and no one who needed interpretation. The food was great though people with teeth issues found broccolini challenging.

Enough Data dump. More in queue.

Happy Birthday to Aunt Crochets a Lot

Potholder

Happy 80th Birthday to Aunt Crochets-a-lot, RantDad's younger sister, who by coincidence:

1. was born in the same county as RantMom 3 days before RantMom's birth but born at home instead of the hospital where RantMom was born

2. had the same first name as RantMOM's youngest sister, known here as Aunt Office Manager

RantWoman remembers Aunt Crochets A Lot for:

crocheted Christmas ornaments made of thin thread that RantWoman would find visually excruciating to work with

crocheted afghans including a couple of completely unreasonable size and weight

crocheted potholders

crocheted dolls (see below)

Crocheted baby booties for the Crisis Pregnancy Center

Also:

Jello and particularly ribbon salad at Christmas time

33 1/3 records

some sort of estate unpleasantness and complexity when the Righteous Rev. Rant Grandad passed away.

Being part of the 3 adults and two kids in a two-bedroom apartment scene for a bit before Little Sister arrived.

The part about being a former nurse, and this fact of biography somehow not being reassuring.

And to recapitulate, read the first part of this post. Read the rest as led.
https://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2015/01/merry-christmas-lets-talk-about-death.html




Standing doll with blue ruffled dress

Allau Akbar with the Presbyterians

RantWoman has discovered an easy way to delight RantMom: go with her to events at her church. RantMom's church has gotten some kind of grant to do special events in support of worship.

The first such event was about music and starred the former choir director who is originally from South Africa. The event prompted RantWoman finally to read Bishop Desmond Tutu's account of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. RantWoman has been reading that,--URK-- for bedtime reading recently. RantWoman is not sure it is good to be able to fall asleep to such reading but more than enough comes back to RantWoman in tired moments toward the end of the day. Luckily, what comes back is not only the various hideous deaths spelled out by different parties' requests for amnesty. RantWoman was also struck by the intrusiveness of the pass laws and the contentious first year of the members of the commission knitting their diversity together in support of the common project.

Also on RantWoman's mind:

--the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, not only the part about great theological openings but also the part about people finding whole new sets of reasons to kill each other.

--the uncelebrated 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, yet more mass murder now on the dustbin of history while plutocrats, kleptocrats, and garden-variety oligarchs define Russia today.

Such was RantWoman's state of mind as she settled in to the next event in the series. The event involved:

Taking a seat at a table supplied with a piece of black paper of highly individual shape

introductions including some delightful ones from the numerous Burundi children whose families are connected with the church

some kind of musical tape and an invitation to draw whatever the music called to mind.

Please note it was black paper. The supplies of brightly colored crayons were less than colored pencils RantWoman could not see. Plus, there was NO WAY  RantWoman was going to try to draw all the bloodletting on her mind.

But RantWoman had to draw SOMETHING.

Finally what came to RantWoman was words, Prayer in the three languages RantWoman has officially studied.

Prayer

Oracion.

Молитва

There still remained space on the paper and a bit of an argument with God arose. RantWoman thoroughly enjoyed an NPR story about a Muslim poet and practicing Muslims reclaiming the phrase Allau Akbar from its terrorist associations. RantWoman is amused by the idea of saying Allau Akbar when one's team scores. RantWoman is also amused by the mispronunciation that sounds to Arabic-speaking ears like "Potatoes are great."

After the music was over RantWoman listened as several present spoke of what the music called to mind. RantWoman just listened.

Later, after dinner, all the idiosyncratically shaped pieces of black paper were pasted into their places on circle mosaics and people were again invited to reflect. This time, the nudge to speak came...and came...and came..

Finally RantWoman rose and recounted the points here with the further comment that RantWoman values deeply held faith even if it is different from RantWoman's.

RantWoman sat down with her post-ministry shakes. RantMom squeezed RantWoman's hand. And after worship, another woman spoke of hearing the same story and of working as a public health nurse with many interpreters. At least some of the Presbyterians could handle Allau Akbar.

Anyway, RantWoman's argument with God was about whether or not Allau Akbar would be too much for RantMom's church. Okay, okay, Faithful to one's Light is a persistent theme for RantWoman right now.



Wherein the RantWomen do our part for Interfaith dialogue at the next in a series of exploration of worship events at Rainier Beach Presbyterian Church.

RantWomen

Alloo Akbar (sp?) Potatoes are great indeed.

FOUR mesages at 9:30 worship

RantWoman is reviewing moments from recent worship experiences.

RantWoman of late has been particularly clear to attend Meeting for Worship, sometimes twice per First day. Some weeks ago, RantWoman was called not only to attend 9:30 worship but to give vocal ministry there. RantWoman was in fact one of FOUR Friends called to so minister, an unusually large number. of divine interventions at 9:30 worship.

RantWoman's Message, for ONCE departing from hopefully easily digestible bits"

RantWoman had been hearing a lot of a quote by Parker Palmer about how it is more important to be in right relationship than to be right. RantWoman frankly does not get the quote. RantWoman does not see how it is possible to be in right relationship without understanding someone's perspective about right.

RantWoman has also been reading Breme Brown's most recent book called Rising Strong. There, part of what Brown calls :"rumbling" with a situation is "What more do I need to understand about the Situation? What more do I need to understand about the people involved? What more do I need to understand about myself?

This ministry occurred in a week with two messages departing from a story about ego and someone getting all tangled up in having red ballet slippers. RantWoman is embarrassed at this remove that she does not remember the content of the fourth Message. RantWoman remembers that there were four. RantWoman remembers registering the fourth one as meaningful. RantWoman at this remove just does not remember more about the content. Interpreter brain also notes that probably this level of recalled detail is more than anyone else wants to interact with. Hold the problem in the Light.